Tuesday, December 30, 2008

The dim light from our small laundry room lamp casts its glow across my mother's face and sends shadows skittering across the room.

As I glance up at her from where I am sitting, the thought that has been throbbing through my heart all day rises once again to my thoughts.

There really is no place like home.

Elizabeth is engrossed in a new book; her curly head bent low to catch the dark stamp of words printed across the soft flutter of pages; her hair, soft and golden and fine, is smooth against her cheek.

I love to watch her face as she reads, her lips moving silently to the rythm of the neatly woven story; her face contorting frequently into a vast mix of facial movements--first a frown of worry, then a twist of excitement, and last a gleeful bounce and joyful outloud chuckle as the story turns to a happier note.

There really is no place like home.

Sarah is in the kitchen, enveloped in the nut brown sweater I bought for her several years ago. The whir of the beater winds its way down the hall to my ears, teasing me with thoughts of the delightful something she is making in the kitchen.

There really is no place like home.

My Daddy, though not with us now, can be felt just the same. I can picture him sitting in the family room at my grandparent's house, surrounded by a variety of musty antiques, where he is resting after a hard day's worth of work. The weather and car trouble has kept him from home...but our thoughts travel the miles between us and wrap around him with good-night hugs.

There really is no place like home.

Sometimes I wonder why I have been so blessed. My family isn't rich...we don't own all of the latest gadgets and gizmos...sometimes it even seems as if we've seen more than our fair share of hardships in life. But sometimes, it isn't what you own that measures up what you have. It's more than that.

It's the roof over my head, and my lovable, teasing sisters, and the set of parents that love me more than life itself.

It's the rain on the windowpane. It's the whisper of the wind through our woods. It's the stars shining down on our very own bit of Earth. It's all of the things that I am sometimes too busy to look up at and notice.

And when I remember all of these things...I realize that I'm one of the very richest people on earth.

Aren't these vintage Plymouth advertisements adorable? I stumbled across them the other day and had to share them with you! They really knew how to sell a product back then. Norman Rockwell's drawings...Christmas theme...family gatherings...all add up to perfectly marvelous advertisements!

Monday, December 22, 2008

Though my family chooses to focus on celebrating the birth of Jesus at Christmastime instead of that jolly old elf, this most-famous newspaper article has always piqued my interest and thrilled me to the tips of my toes. Every word is perfectly stated, every thought profound. I hope you enjoy reading it--for the very first time or the hundredth--as much as I always have.

New York, Sept. 21, 1897.

Dear Editor: I am 8 years old.

Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus.

Papa says "If you see it in The Sun, it's so."

Please tell me the truth: is there a Santa Claus?

Virgina O'Hanlon

The editor's reply:

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world around him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills this world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You may tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

I've been away from home since last Thursday, as we three girls went with Mama into town for her scheduled surgery. It was a painful procedure, and it seems like she'll have quite a bit of recovering to do, but we are fervently praying that this will clear up the health issue she's suffered through the last several years!

I discovered that I hadn't yet posted the two awards three sweet young ladies gave to me...so here they are! Thank you so much Clare, Laura, and Carla! Your kindness and sweet sentiments mean so much to me...

I know so many of my favorite blogs have been nominated for these awards already...so if I overlook yours or give you a duplicate of one you already have...know I mean the best! ☺

1.Inspire you2.Make you smile and laugh3.Give amazing information4.Are a great read5.Have an amazing design6. And any other reasons you can think of that makes them uber amazing!

Rules of the award are as follows:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.2. Nominate at least 5 blogs (can be more) that for you are Uber Amazing! ***if you don’t have 5 that’s okay.***3. Let them know that they have received this Uber Amazing award by commenting on their blog.4. Share the love and link to this post and to the person you received your award from.

Charmaine of Beautiful Things to Share was kind enough to give me this blogger award! The concept behind the award being that the blog creators have shown an uncanny knack for seeing silver linings and making the best of bad situations (i.e., lemonade from lemons).

Thank you so much Charmaine for your sweet comments and support! Visit Charmaine's site to discover some of the lovely and inspirational items she delights in posting.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

It's something else. I know you. I know you don't tell people a lot of things. I don't either. I have a feeling that inside you there's something nobody knows about... something secret and wonderful. I'll find it out."

Teresa Wright simply sparkles as young

"Charlie" in the 1943 film Shadow of a Doubt.

Considered by Alfred Hitchcock to be his best work, Shadow's plot centers around the quirky Newton family, who lead quiet lives in a quiet little town. When Uncle Charlie (Joseph Cotten)--beloved brother and idolized uncle--comes to visit, no one in the family seems to sense the underlying cloud of mystery that surrounds his life.

"Uncle Charlie"--one of Joseph Cotten's most brilliant roles.

But when detectives come snooping around the house, stating that they have reason to believe that the elusive serial killer, The Merry Widow Murderer, may be the Newton's own beloved uncle, young Charlie is unwillingly drawn into the mystery on a race against time to discover the truth behind her uncle's past.

"Shadow" is delightful and entertaining, a smoothly flowing film that will keep you on your toes. Hitchcock loved the idea of introducing crime to a small town, and he does so here with precise perfection.

The first time that the opening scenes flashed across our television screen, I knew this would be one film that I could watch again and again. Joseph Cotten and Teresa Wright are brilliant as uncle and niece, and Hume Cronyn's delectable role as Herbie Hawkins was also his film debut.

The plot centers around a fine dance of suspense and intrigue, and young Charlie's recurring question...could there be more to her beloved uncle than she originally thought?

Teresa Wright's costumes are absolutely lovely...and I can only wish that we had a stately old library just like the one in the film in our small town. If you haven't yet seen, Shadow of a Doubt, you really need to find a copy. I highly recommend it!